High-speed police pursuit in East Lawrence ends in arrest at pumpkin patch

Several police cars pursued a black Cadillac late Friday morning on a meandering high-speed chase through East Lawrence, from 10th and Rhode Island streets to East 15th Street, before the vehicle was found stopped near a pumpkin patch east of the city.

Byron Tyrone Fowler, 21, of Lawrence, was arrested after fleeing the car on foot and booked into Douglas County Jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct and several traffic violations including reckless driving and attempting to elude law enforcement. His bond was posted Friday at $1,800.

The incident began about 11 a.m. when Lawrence police responded to a disturbance near 10th and New Hampshire streets. When police arrived, a man fled the scene driving a black 1996 Cadillac Deville, four-door.

Police pursued the Cadillac as it was driven recklessly for several blocks through East Lawrence. It almost caused an accident before police supervisors called off the chase because of the driver's increasingly high speed, said Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman. No accidents or injuries were reported from incident.

A few minutes later, police found the Cadillac stopped at Schaake's Pumpkin Patch, 1791 North 1500 Rd. They also found Fowler nearby, running through a field, McKinley said, and arrested him with the help of deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

McKinley said it is not clear why the man fled, and police are still investigating what prompted the original disturbance call.

Police chased a white van down 6th Street last night at about 5:10 pm. The van ran several red lights and almost t-boned some cars at 6th & Maine. I'm very confused as to why the police cars chasing him did not have their sirens or lights on. It was an extremely dangerous situation and I heard a high school kid got his car damaged in the chase. Why hasn't any of this been reported on LJWorld.com?